Sean Wayland

The word opera conjures up images of large casts, a huge orchestra and chorus and massive logistical issues. Not Cooperstown! A jazz opera in nine innings, Cooperstown utilizes five solo singers and a 1950s modern jazz quintet. Based on A. Bartlett Giamatti's essay, "The Green Fields of the Mind," composer Sasha Matson has, with librettist Mark Miller, used baseball as an art form, with the capacity to express the deepest emotional truths about individuals and society. Matson reflects baseball's own specific historical musical attributes in his composition. One is the sound of the stadium organ, which led him to score the music for a "Miles" jazz quintet. This particular grouping of instruments is as capable as any large orchestra of realizing music in all its potential variety.

"Outstanding" is an overused description but one that's applied to bassist Orlando le Fleming so consistently that its justification can't be denied. Since relocating from his native UK to New York City he’s thrived in the world’s toughest jazz environment, and brought his inimitable personality to work on projects for the likes of Branford Marsalis, Joey Calderazzo, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Bill Charlap, Billy Cobham, Wayne Krantz, Ari Hoenig, Seamus Blake, Jeff "Tain" Watts and David Sanchez among many others.
As a leader he shines even brighter - his drumless OWL Trio in particular gained plaudits across the board for its hushed, intimate atmosphere…